Homecoming
by Tarja the wind witch
Summary: After the end of the novel, Set comes back home and Horus finally comes round. implied ShadowxBast relationship. Rated for slash lemon and language.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original American Gods characters. I just borrowed them for a while.**

****This is set after the ending of the novel and assumes that Shadow came back to Cairo, sometime after "The Monarch in the Glen". Implied Shadow/Bast established (if a bit weird) relationship.  
><strong>**

**I had been wondering why did Horus go mad ever since first reading American Gods and remember it happening after Set left and I had been reading an old sort of essay from a Dutch egyptologist about the conflict of Horus and Set, and this sprang to my mind.  
>I just wanted to expolre the lovehate relationship between them, it just came out a bit pervy.**

**AUTHOR NOTES: (PLEASE READ)**  
><strong>Set comes from California because there is a sort of satanist church called "Temple of Set" in LA. (You can google it, if you want)<strong>

**The song he's singing at the beginning is "Seven Drunken Nights" a traditional Irish folk song. The best version is in all likelyhood the Dubliners' one. Check it out, it's hilarious.**

**Since Neil Gaiman depicted the Kemetic gods as very dark-skinned, borderline afroamerican, the only way I could come up with to justify the fact that Set is called "the Red God" in myths, was to depict him as an albino.**  
><strong>Even in mythology he is not an outright evil character, he just has a bit of anger management issues and other assorted problems (I mean, even his alleged father refused to acknowledge him - yep, check it out, he is never called "son of Geb" as his brother Osiris, ever). He is the embodiment of violent natural forces and change, stuff that is not automatically bad, but can have a positive effect, plus, he is the protector of Ra, a very positive role.<strong>  
><strong>He is chaotic neutral, I'd say.<strong>  
><strong>I am tring to portray him sympathetically, so please do not be offended. I do not mean to be discriminatory towards anyone.<strong>

**WARNING: malexmale lemon and bad language.**

**Flame me all you want, I'm fireproof.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>When the car parked messily in the backyard of Ibis and Jacquel's Funeral Parlour, Shadow had the impression that it meant trouble.<br>The car itself was nothing overly special, just an old, red Chevy with more than its fair share of bumps and scrapes and sporting California plates, music pumping frantically out of the loudspeakers of its stereo. Shadow didn't know what genre of music it was, but it was loud, fast and hard.  
>The man that came out of it, slightly staggering, was another matter altogether.<br>The stranger was a bloody tall guy, broad-shouldered but not bulky, rather lean, but his arms were corded with ropy muscles and his pale skin was crisscrossed with scars and was bright pink and peeling in places, as if he had had a bad case of sunburn. He was dressed like he had not much money, in a faded black t-shirt, frayed jeans and battered combat boots.  
>The man eyed the car sceptically though his sunglasses, which he was wearing even if it was almost twilight, raked a hand through his short orangish hair and turned towards the porch, a manic grin appearing on his face.<p>

Jacquel started and hissed between his teeth. Shadow tensed, ready to take on the stranger. The man looked mean, but he had taken on Mad Sweeney before and stopped the war between the Old and the New Gods, he was not going to back out in front of some punk.  
>"Yienpu, dude! Long time no see, eh?" exclaimed the stranger, with a noticeable West Coast drawl.<br>"Set? You haven't written us a line since 1906, we thought you dead!" Jacquel protested, halfway between outraged and surprised.  
>Set just shrugged. "Thought you lot wouldn't miss me." he replied gruffly and turned again to retrieve a bag from the trunk of the car.<br>"Do not worry, I'm not staying too long. – he said over his shoulder, smirking – Just came back to do a bit of catching up. How long has it been?" he added, walking to the porch. Shadow noticed that he limped slightly.  
>"A couple of centuries, at least. – Set continued – This place hasn't changed much. Still cutting up the dead for a living, eh? Doesn't it get old, after a while?" he asked, grinning.<br>"You still booze, fight and sleep around, don't you?" Jacquel replied, irritated.  
>Set laughed. "Point taken."<p>

Shadow had a sudden flash of memory. "I saw you at the battle. You were with the Irish." he said with certainty.  
>Set turned to consider him. "You're not one of us, are you? – he enquired, slightly perplexed – But, yeah, I was with the Irish, as there was none of us. There was no way in hell I was going to miss a good fight and I'm quite able to pass for Irish. – he added - As I went home on Monday night, as drunk as drunk could be, I saw a horse outside the door where my old horse should be…" he started singing at the top of his lungs, now with a noticeable Irish drawl, stopping as soon as he noticed that neither Shadow nor Jacquel seemed impressed by his performance.<br>He considered Shadow a bit more, then a strange expression passed on his sunburnt features. "You were the one that made us stop, Wednesday's flunky! Such a spoilsport…" he drawled.  
>"It was a senseless war." Shadow retorted.<br>Set just laughed. "War is always senseless, but that doesn't mean it is not fun. – he said – Come on, dude, you look like a guy who enjoys a fight every now and then, you must know what I mean." he added.  
>"That's Set for you, - Jacquel chimed in – always looking for a fight, no matter with whom or for what."<br>Set grinned again, quite disturbingly.

The back door opened suddenly and Ibis appeared on the threshold. "Dinner's ready… - he began, and then his eyes fell on Set – Oh… You're still alive…" he commented, not overly enthusiastic.  
>Set just laughed. "Nice to see you too, Djeuthy, old fart! - he exclaimed – Looks like I'm just in time for food."<br>Ibis' face fell almost comically. He sighed and led the way into the house and to the kitchen.  
>Set dropped unceremoniously his bag on the floor and sat himself at the table. The chair next to his was occupied by Bast, curled up in a tight ball.<br>"Ah, furball, I was wondering where you had gone!" he exclaimed and extended a hand, as if to pet her. In a split second, she was standing on the chair, her fur on end, hissing and spitting and Set's forearm sported four bleeding scratches.  
>Set withdrew his hand, but seemed otherwise unfazed. "I missed you too, furball." he said, grinning again.<br>Shadow collected Bast from the chair and she burrowed in his shirt, purring, while he petted her soothingly. He would never know why she only reverted to her humanoid form at night and only when she was with him.

"You should disinfect that." Jacquel said, dropping on a chair beside Set.  
>Set just shrugged. "Relax, dude. It's not like I'm really going to get an infection." he retorted and took off his sunglasses, setting them on the table. He had very light eyes, a sort of pale grey with a hint of pink, and he moved them repetitively from left to right, in what seemed an involuntary tic.<br>Shadow tried not to stare too hard, but Set caught him all the same.  
>"What are you staring at, man? – he asked, angrily – Do I look weird? Do I look like a freak? Yeah, I'm albino and that weird thing I can't help doing with my eyes is nistagmus. Nis-fucking-tagmus, OK? – he repeated, hitting a fist on the table - I have a medical condition, yeah, but I can still kick your ass until you cry for your momma, bitch!" he yelled, suddenly standing up.<br>Shadow dropped Bast, who quickly slinked under the table, and stood up as well.  
>"I meant no disrespect." he said, but still readied himself for the first blows.<br>"Stop! Set, calm down! Shadow, sit down! – Ibis intervened – No fighting in my kitchen!"  
>"I won't be treated like a freak, man! I want respect." Set exclaimed, still all riled up.<br>"I've already said I apologize." Shadow offered, lifting his hands up. This seemed to calm Set down a bit, at least enough to have him sit down again.  
>Ibis nodded and set a plate of rice and vegetables in front of him. "That's better. Calm down and, please, drop that horrible LA drawl, you sound like a "gangsta"" he said, pronouncing even the inverted commas.<br>Set scowled and picked up the spoon (left-handed, noticed Shadow), shovelling rice into his mouth hungrily.

All of them started tucking into their meals, even Bast, who attacked her cat food with determination.  
>Set finished first and went to the stove for seconds, grabbing a bottle of beer on the way.<br>"If you eat so fast, you'd have to eat more to feel full. You should eat more slowly." Ibis admonished him.  
>"I missed you trying to mother me, scribe." Set commented cheerfully, but kept on doing whatever he pleased.<br>He drained his beer and polished the second plate , then pushed it away, satisfied, settling back, legs crossed and an arm thrown across the backrest.  
>"So, where's the boy? – he asked - I was half expecting him to try to kick my ass as soon as I set foot in Cairo, but I guess he's got more important stuff to do. Did he make it to sheriff, yet?" he asked, with more than a hint of sarcasm.<br>Shadow watched Jacquel and Ibis exchange a meaningful glance without replying. A heavy silence fell over the room.  
>"Come on, guys, - Set pleaded, with a genuine look of panic on his face – what happened to Horus? He can't be dead, can he? I mean, he's too perfect to die. Come on, say something!"<br>"He's not dead." Ibis replied finally.  
>Set sighed in relief "Then where is he?" he asked.<br>"Somewhere, around here. He's lost it, Set, he does not remember himself, or us, or anything. He spends his time as a falcon, oblivious to everything." Jacquel continued sorrowfully.  
>"He's what?" Set exclaimed, shock and genuine sorrow mixing on his face. "Come on, you're joking!"<br>Both Ibis and Jacquel regarded him with stony serious expressions.  
>"You're not joking, are you? – he exhaled, as if deflating from all his bluster, weird eyes wide – For fuck's sake! When did this happen?"<br>"Not long after you seemingly disappeared." Ibis added.  
>Set let out a stream of curses in a language that Shadow couldn't make heads or tails of and ran out of the kitchen.<br>They heard the back door slamming and running footsteps, then silence.

Ibis sighed and shook his head.  
>"Should I go and get him?" Shadow asked.<br>"Only if you want to be ripped up into pieces. He gets very violent when he's so upset." Jacquel replied, staring at the wall.  
>"Are you not afraid that he'll kill Horus?" Shadow insisted, thinking that the two of them were rather too apathetic regarding the falcon-boy.<br>"He won't. They need each other, somehow." Jacquel replied.  
>"Why, it might be the best way to get Horus back." Ibis added pensively.<br>"Aren't they supposed to be mortal enemies?" Shadow asked.  
>"Well, it's more complicated than that…" Ibis began, and Shadow knew that it would be a long story.<p>

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

It was commonly believed that albino people could see in the dark better than in light. This was not at all true for mortals, but being a god associated with darkness had its benefits and, apart from the loss of focus caused by his involuntary eye movement, Set could navigate quite easily in the dark.  
>He didn't know exactly where he was going, just that he had to find Horus, his enemy, his counterpart. He could feel his presence, somewhere in front of him, so he kept on running and he wouldn't stop until he found him.<br>The presence position was now to the left and Set took a sharp turn into the woods, without slowing down. He might be freaky and ugly, but he had stamina and he knew he was angry enough to do something inconsiderate.  
>He finally emerged in a meadow, where a falcon was perched on a big, isolated tree.<br>The falcon had blue eyes and Set knew he had found his quarry.

"Look at you, boy. I would have never thought you'd fall so low." he hissed.  
>The falcon ruffled his feathers and twisted his head sideways to one side and then to the other, as if examining him thoroughly.<br>"Yeah, it's me, my hair's shorter, but it's still me, boy. – Set confirmed – Why are you not coming down to try and kick my ass? Did you forget me as well? Did you forget us? Everything we used to be?" he asked, now quite anxious, almost desperate.  
>He had fully expected for Horus to get round instantly upon seeing him, he had thought their rivalry, their contraposition would be one of the defining traits of the boy's existence, one of the things he would never forget.<br>It was like that for him, he knew that they had been brought to the world to be the opposite of one another, whether they fought or just counterbalanced each other, he knew himself to be meaningless without Horus. Losing him would be like losing a part of himself.  
>On the way from California, he had been anticipating the moment when they'd meet again. Travelling around the US had been fun, but he had been missing something and that something was now making stupid bird noises and fluffing his feathers.<p>

"For fuck's sake, Horus! Get a grip man! I'm here, come down, talk to me, fight me! You were born for this!" he yelled and, finally, something happened.  
>The falcon dissolved and a young man took its place and jumped from the branch to the grass. He was completely naked, which was distracting. It had been millennia, literally, since the last time he had seen Horus so exposed and, considering what had transpired between them then, he had never dared hope to see him again in such a state.<br>Horus advanced towards him quite unsteadily, muttering something under his breath, his dark hair tousled, his blue eyes wide and wild. He looked completely out of it.

"You're not real. – he said shakily – You're dead. You left and never came back. You went to San Francisco and died. No letters, no postcards, no nothing. – he continued, wrapping his arms around his middle and sniffling pitifully - You're dead, mom's gone. I have no meaning, no one to advise me, nothing to fight for, no counterbalance. – he added, rocking backwards and forwards – But this, this is cruel. Go away, leave me alone! You're not real! You're not real!" he yelled.  
>Set was both shocked and angry at the boy's reaction to his goading.<br>It was not at all what he had expected.  
>Yes, he should have kept contact after the quake in 1906, but that had seemed the perfect opportunity to sneak away for a while, to cut the ties. He had fully intended to retie them, sooner or later, and that was the reason why he had come back, only he had not imagined that his choice would have had such consequences.<p>

He was caught now between guilt for his actions, pity for Horus and anger at him.  
>He had never been very good at acting upon his guilt or pity, but, boy, he was a master at acting in anger.<br>Without thinking twice, he punched Horus straight in the face with all his might, flooring him.  
>Horus lay sprawled on the grass, shaking his head and blinking his eyes, confusedly.<br>"I'm not real, eh? Wasn't' that real, boy? Real enough that it floored you, pansy! – he provoked – What do you have to say now? No more fancy speeches? Come on, boy, bring it!"  
>Horus shook his head once again and blinked, then turned towards him, looking at him with his blue, blue eyes, finally focused and full of anger.<br>"Yes!" Set thought in triumph, then Horus launched himself at him with an inarticulate battlecry and the two of them fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Horus didn't know exactly what had happened, only that the fog that had clouded his mind for so long (How long? He didn't know?) had lifted and the desperation that had gripped his heart had loosened its grip.  
>He had been dreaming the weirdest dreams lately: first a dark-skinned man, hanging from a tree by his neck, dead but not, and a woman shining like dawn cutting him down and giving him back his life, then Set, his clothes different and his hair much shorter, but still unmistakably him, yelling at him desperately.<br>Now his face hurt and someone was still yelling at the top of his voice. Horus shook his head and blinked, trying to focus. Everything still felt a bit fuzzy and his right eye was swelling.  
>He swivelled his head towards the noise. It might not have been a dream after all, he thought.<br>Set was really there, yelling abuse at him. His facial distress had been likely caused by his heavy fists, he reasoned.  
>Well, he thought, still a bit slow, that was rich: first he left, then he stopped writing, leading him to think that he was dead or otherwise lost, and finally, when he came back, the first thing he did was belting him across the face and shouting at him. That was intolerable, he thought and hurled himself at him, clawing and punching and screaming.<p>

They both fell to the floor, him on top, and immediately started fighting for dominance. Horus tried to knee him in the groin, it always worked, only he didn't manage to land the blow, but at least he landed a headbutt on his face. Set's nose couldn't get any worse than it already was, but surely not from lack of trying from Horus.  
>"It's good to have you back." Set panted, managing to roll over him and elbow him in the ribs.<br>"I missed this." he added a second later, with a groan as Horus elbowed him in the stomach and tried to claw his weird eyes out.  
>Set laughed and managed to pin one of his hands on the ground. Horus started struggling madly to break free from his grip, punching and clawing and tearing and slithering like a snake, but Set pinned his body down with his own and suddenly certain bits of their respective anatomies were in contact and rubbing.<br>A low moan escaped Set's throat and he smiled mischievously. "I missed you." he whispered roughly, but sincerely, his weird, unable-to-focus eyes aiming towards his own and shining.  
>Horus shook his head in denial. No, he couldn't have missed him, otherwise he would have come back earlier. He must have known that without each other they were nothing.<br>"You lie!" he yelled, and tried to punch him with his free hand, but Set caught his wrist and pinned it to the ground as well.  
>"No." Set said, still smiling.<br>"You lie..." Horus repeated, still struggling, but more hopelessly, he was now completely trapped underneath his enemy, unable to move, at his scarce mercy.  
>He should feel horrified, angry, defeated, not relieved. Why did he feel like everything was finally falling in place?<br>Set shook his head. "I missed you. I'm not lying." he repeated.  
>He sounded sincere, then why did he leave? Why did he always leave?<br>"I hate you!" he yelled and it was true for a lot of good reasons, not last the fact that he needed him, that he couldn't bear living if he was not part of his life one way or another.  
>"I know." Set replied, grinding himself against Horus' body.<p>

Thinking back on it, Horus couldn't exactly tell why he did what he did that night.  
>Maybe it was frustration, solitude, a residual tinge of madness, or maybe it was the same mix of curiosity, morbid fascination and undisclosed desires that had lured him to Set's bed millennia before, but when he darted his head forward, to crash his lips upon Set's in a bruising, passionate, almost violent kiss, it felt horribly right.<br>Set acted almost surprised, remaining immobile for a second, then responded to the kiss opening his lips to him, letting him in.  
>It was furious and dirty and hungry, a clash of lips and teeth and tongues exploring, licking, tasting, battling for dominance.<br>Set released Horus' wrists and Horus lost no time in trying to rip his enemy's clothes, while Set slid his calloused, scarred hands on his enemy's already unclothed form, never breaking the kiss.  
>Horus ran his hands on Set's back and chest, tracing the contours of his lean warrior's body, feeling ropes of muscle and slick scars under his touch.<br>"Why does it feel so good?" he asked himself, but found no answer and then his enemy's lips left his mouth and started nibbling at the junction of neck and shoulder and his questions lost meaning.  
>Set's lips and hands seemed to be everywhere at once on his body, drowning him in ecstasy.<br>His lips latched on a nipple, licking and sucking and finally, lightly biting, while one of his hands caressed his waist and wrapped itself around his manhood.  
>He had not realised being that hard, but now he ached for something, anything, everything.<p>

Set's hand started stroking him slowly, a delicious, languorous friction that still set his nerve-endings on fire and his skin tingling.  
>Horus tried not to whimper, not to give him this satisfaction, but found himself unable to contain the low sounds of pleasure that were spilling from his lips.<br>Speaking of what, Set's lips were tracing a wet line of kisses and nibbles down his chest and abdomen, lower and lower and lower still, making him quiver in anticipation. He highly doubted that he was going to do something so demeaning, but the idea of having him suck his cock was unbearably arousing.  
>Set lifted his head from Horus' body and looked up at him, his pupils so dilated that his eyes looked dark. He smiled lustfully then dipped his head down again and licked along Horus' twitching cock.<br>Horus' felt as if he had gone blind once more, his eyes rolling back into his head so hard that he couldn't see anything, however much he might have wanted to look while his enemy took him in his mouth, bit by bit, until his lips met Horus' pubic bone. It must have been quite a sight, Horus managed to think, but it was too good to do anything apart from moaning and tangling his hands into Set's short hair.

Set took him faster and harder by the minute, tormenting the head with licks and sucks and then taking him to the hilt, in no particular pattern, so he didn't know what to expect and couldn't brace for it. He was close, so close.  
>He started thrusting his hips up and, surprisingly, Set let him, even if he was strong enough to keep his hips down, if he had wanted, increasing the pace even more.<br>It was frantic, wonderful, dirty, intense, unbearable. So much pleasure, too much, he managed to think and then he came, screaming and trembling , into his enemy's mouth.

He lay twitching on the grass, afterwards, while Set sat back on his haunches, looking at him with still-unsatisfied lust and licking his lips languorously.  
>Horus couldn't help but think back on the whole lettuce incident and blush.<br>As if reading his thoughts, Set chuckled low. "You could have just asked, back then. I would have obliged, no big deal." he whispered, his voice rougher than usual.  
>Even if he had just spent himself, at his words Horus felt another wave of lust hit him like a train.<br>He growled low in his throat and pulled himself into a sitting position, feeling his manhood stiffen again.  
>Set still had his trousers on, this was not fair, he thought and pounced on him again, rolling him to the ground and pinning him down exactly as he had done before. Set had always been stronger than him and he could have reversed their positions, if only he had wanted, as he had done earlier, but he let himself be pressed to the ground and he let Horus unzip his jeans and pull them down along with his briefs, freeing him and baring him to Horus' hungry gaze.<p>

The only time Horus had seen him fully naked had been before the duel, but he knew well what to expect now, after all he had been responsible for Set's mutilation.  
>His sword had missed Set's manhood by the breadth of a hair, but had still managed to completely obliterate one of his testicles and damage the other. He still carried the scar, even after millennia had come and gone since then, a long jagged stretch of silvery slick tissue that started almost at his navel and went down and down and down.<br>Set looked down at him, trying to gauge his reaction to that, a question in his unsteady greyish eyes. Mimicking what he had done earlier, Horus smiled up at him and bent down, tracing the scar from top to bottom with his tongue, wondering if he could feel it at all.  
>Judging from the sound of mixed pleasure and surprise that escaped his lips, he could.<p>

Emboldened, Horus did that again, while his hands teased his inner tights and his twitching cock.  
>The only experience Horus had in this kind of things was that only unfortunate night he had spent with Set. They had been both quite drunk, but Horus had quite enjoyed the experience, until he had realised the political implications of what he was going to let his enemy do to him. Instinctively, he mimicked what Set had done to him back then, his fingers sliding between his enemy's legs, cupping what was left of his balls and then further down, to tease at his entrance.<br>Oblivious to anything but pleasure, Set groaned and the sound sent a thrill of pleasure right down to Horus' manhood. Horus surreptitiously slipped a finger into his own mouth and slicked it with saliva, placing it again at Set's entrance and pressing in.  
>Set stiffened for a second split second, letting out a harsher cry, and then relaxed, letting Horus tease him, and tease he did, trying to remember what he had experienced previously and copying it and improvising when he couldn't remember.<p>

From the looks of it, he was doing well.  
>He pushed and pulled gently, then more forcefully and Set moaned and tossed his head on the ground, then he inserted another finger and started pushing in again, scissoring, stretching.<br>"For fuck's sake, Horus, if you want to fuck me, just do it – Set panted desperately – Stop teasing."  
>"It will hurt." Horus managed to object, even if his cock ached for being buried to the hilt somewhere.<br>Set looked at him slightly perplexedly, as if he had not understood what the problem was, then shook his head.  
>"Come here." he ordered, beckoning for Horus to kneel next to him.<br>A bit confused, Horus followed his instructions and, as soon as he was in position, Set grabbed him by the waist and took him into his mouth again. Horus tried to protest, but it was over as soon as it had started. It had been too quick to be overly pleasurable, but it had served another purpose altogether.  
>"Now fuck me." Set instructed, lying on his back again and lifting his legs.<br>Horus didn't think on it twice and settled between his legs, pressing his now-slick cock at his entrance.  
>Set hissed between his teeth, even if he was trying to be gentle, but didn't try to stop him and, inch by inch, Horus managed to bury himself to the hilt.<br>He paused to catch his breath. They had barely begun and he was already breathless with pleasure. It was quite different from having sex with a woman, so much tighter. He had never fucked anyone so tight and it felt wonderful, he told to himself, gently withdrawing and pushing back in again a few times.  
>Set moaned loudly. "You can go a lot harder, you're not going to break me. I like it rough." he encouraged.<br>"Are you sure?" Horus asked, clinging to the last bits of his self-control.  
>Set nodded and smiled his trademark crooked smile and Horus' self -control crumbled to dust.<p>

He grabbed Set's hips and brought them closer and started moving forcefully in and out, slamming his body against Set's, while he wrapped his legs around Horus' waist and tangled a hand in his hair to bring him down into another hungry kiss.  
>In this position, Horus had to slightly change the angle of his thrusts and all of a sudden, Set started whimpering loudly into the kiss. Horus broke the contact and stopped, worried.<br>"Am I hurting you too much?" he asked.  
>Set laughed and shook his head. "You do not even know what you're doing to me... So cute. – he whispered – No, you're not hurting me. Stop talking, fuck me and do not stop, whatever happens, OK?" he asked.<br>Horus nodded. "Good." Set said and pulled him down to his mouth again, kissing him frantically while Horus fucked the living daylights out of him, faster and faster, harder and harder, until between the friction, the kiss and the sounds Set was making (halfway between whimpers and muffled screams, but entirely arousing), he felt like he was getting very close to release again. He tried to rein himself in, to draw out it longer, but there was no escaping.  
>He sneaked a hand between their bodies and wrapped it around Set's cock, pumping it in time with his last, frantic thrusts and Set threw his head back, finally breaking the kiss and came hard in Horus' hand, spine bowing and muscles clenching, too breathless even to yell.<br>Horus had never felt anything quite similar when he had had sex with any of his wives, he had never felt their pleasure like this.  
>Set's inner muscles spasming and constricting around him and the knowledge that he had managed to do that, to make Set lose control completely and surrender, were more than enough to send him irrevocably over the edge. Flashes of light exploded under his eyelids and his whole body clenched and spasmed as he spent himself inside his once-enemy.<p>

Unable to support himself further, Horus collapsed over him, resting his head in the crook of his neck. It would have seemed a bit too intimate, but after what had transpired between them bare minutes before, this was a stupid concern. For long moments both lay there panting and trembling, trying to catch their breath, too dazed by the afterglow to talk or move.  
>"If I had known that this would have been the welcome, I'd have returned ages ago… This was… Glorious." Set breathed roughly, after some minutes.<br>Horus lifted his head from its resting place and glared daggers at him. "I should have kicked your ass for leaving like that and cutting all communications." Horus said, irritated.  
>"You fucked me in the ass instead. Much better, eh?" Set replied with a grin.<br>Horus didn't know if he wanted to punch him or kiss him for being so infuriating and endearing at the same time. He decided upon kissing him and was not disappointed by the consequences.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Later, they had managed to get into a bed, back at the Funeral Parlour. Fucking on the floor was fun and all, but a bed was much better.  
>During their hurried search for an unoccupied room, they had stumbled on a quite interesting spectacle, Bast shagging the hell out of that stranger, Shadow. It looked like the dude was a cat-lover in more ways than one, Set thought.<br>The room they had managed to occupy was quite isolated from the rest of the occupied rooms and because of that he didn't have a very hard time convincing Horus to resume their activities. "You're not going to stay on the bottom, now. You're too loud. Alright?" Horus asked.  
>Set nodded, chuckling to himself. He had loved what Horus had done to him in the meadow, it had been so unexpected and so unbelievably good (if he hadn't known first-hand that Horus had no experience in this sort of things, he would have never believed it), but now the only thing he wanted was to do the same thing to him, to take him and watch him fall apart, to make him moan and gasp and tremble in ecstasy, and that was exactly what he took his time in doing.<p>

"I almost wish I'd let you do this to me that first time…" Horus whispered sleepily afterwards, when both lay exhausted, tangled in the sheets.  
>Set just smiled and snuggled closer. He felt peaceful, extremely satisfied. He had no doubt that, with time, they'd start quarrelling and fighting again, that their rivalry would come to the forefront again, but now they were perfectly balanced and counterpoised in an altogether different, more pleasurable, way and Set discovered that he didn't mind the change, he didn't mind it at all.<br>He laid a hand on Horus' hip gently stroking the soft, dark caramel skin. In contrast, his hand looked even paler.  
>"It's good to be home again." he whispered, feeling that sleep was sneaking upon him with a vengeance.<br>Horus rolled over, so that his head rested on Set's shoulder and one of his arms was flung across his chest.  
>Set let out a surprised sound.<br>"If you tell anyone, I'll rip your remaining ball, understood? – Horus asked and Set just nodded – I am happy you are home." he added softly.  
>Set savoured Horus' words for a minute, then wrapped his arms around him. Horus was already sleeping peacefully. He smelled nice and being wrapped up in his warmth was so wonderful...<br>Set knew that this would add another permanent layer of need to their tangled, messed up and bittersweet interdependence. This would be another thing he would miss when he was gone again.  
>"I'll go away again, probably, when we are back to hating each other's guts, – he whispered to his enemy's sleeping form – but I promise you that I'll come back. For you."<p>

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

It was morning already, and nobody had had any news of either Set or Horus.  
>Even if Ibis had explained what had transpired between them during the millennia, Shadow still felt uneasy about the thought of the two of them having a duel in the middle of the forest somewhere. Their previous duel had ended in grievous injury and not even the gods knew what could happen this time. Yeah, those two needed one another, but neither was stable enough, at the moment, to know the limits of anything, much less of acceptable violence. Shadow didn't want to have to collect their bodies in the morgue van like he had done for Mad Sweeney.<p>

He was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a mug of filter coffee, when he heard someone coming down the stairs.  
>Horus looked almost sane, except for the dishevelled hair, assorted bruises and a black eye, and was finally clothed in what looked like slightly too big hand-me-downs.<br>"You are the guy they hanged from Yggdrasil! - he exclaimed – It was not a dream, then. I am Horus, pleased to meet you." he added, extending a hand towards him.  
>"Shadow." he answered laconically, shaking the falcon-god's hand.<br>Incredibly, it had worked exactly as Ibis had hoped, instead.

A few moments later Set caught up with them, sunglasses already in place. His limp was a bit more noticeable than the previous evening and he was shirtless, so Shadow could notice that he had scars everywhere, not just on his arms, and that he had also some fresh nail marks on his back.  
>Set nodded to Shadow and smiled to Horus, then rummaged in the fridge, grabbing a beer, popped it open and took a swig.<br>"Beer for breakfast?" asked Horus with a grimace.  
>Set shrugged. "We need to commemorate." he replied.<br>"Commemorate? What?" asked Horus, curious.  
>Set smiled somewhat gently at him and raised his bottle of beer in a toast.<br>"To departing, only to come back again at the end. To losing the way, only to find it again. To homecomings." he said softly, as if talking exclusively to Horus and the boy blushed slightly, then took the bottle from Set's hands and took a healthy swig.  
>Set smiled again, more serene than Shadow had seen him since he had arrived on the previous evening.<br>There was a fine line between love and hate, indeed, thought Shadow, suddenly feeling very superfluous.

* * *

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